Careless
by Chiyansfw
Summary: Zeref was too careless with his own body. That's how it all started. How it continues? That's up to you readers!
1. Chapter 1

**I wrote this chapter all in one day, yay! I'm rather proud of myself right now.**

 **Mind: This contains sibling incest, sexual content, and in later chapters threesomes (m/m/m). Don't like, don't read.**

* * *

Despite his best efforts, Zeref couldn't tear his eyes away from his little brother. What was up with him, he didn't know, but lately he found everything about Natsu, his gentle smiles, his stupid pranks, his every movement, intriguing and endearing.

The sound of Natsu's laughter struck a chord within Zeref's body. A warm feeling spread in his abdomen and his skin prickled. Over the last few months, Natsu had awoken a part of him that had been sleeping for far too long, a feeling that he'd nearly forgotten even existed.

Just then Natsu bumped his shoulder against Gray who already had tears in his eyes from laughing. Zeref's heart clenched, along with his fist under the table, and he averted his eyes. He had no recollection of ever having felt like this before, other than in the past few months. Whenever he noticed that Natsu's eyes lit up or that his smiles became just a little brighter when a certain ice mage was around, something not unlike a roaring beast woke up inside him.

"Here you go," Lucy said as she sat two steaming mugs down on the table and then flopped onto the bench beside him.

"Thanks."

Zeref wrapped his hands around the mug, thankful for the distraction. It was scalding hot, but he didn't care. He'd withstood a far greater heat already.

 _'Natsu's fire... Despite the heat, it felt oddly comforting to be surrounded by his magic. It didn't burn me because I'm immo—no, because I_ used to be _immortal. But damn, it almost felt like an embrace. I wonder what it would feel like to lie in his arms for real, and not just a short hug to say hello or bye.'_

"—care! Hey, are you even listening? You're burning your hands!"

With a start, Zeref let go of the mug. His palms were scarlet and they _hurt_.

Lucy snatched the mug away from him, shooting him a reproachful glare.

"Seriously, you need to be more careful! You're not invulnerable anymore. How many more times are you going to accidentally hurt yourself because you're too careless? One day you're _really_ gonna kill yourself because you _didn't know that a fall from a high place could kill a person_."

Zeref rolled his eyes. Was it _his_ fault that he'd forgotten about the weak physique of a mortal body in his four hundred years of being immortal?

"I'm sorry, mom. I won't ever hold a hot mug like this again, lest it kills me."

Lucy growled. She hated when he called her that.

"And?"

"And I won't jump from high places again, I won't let myself be bitten by any kind of animal, I won't ask another mage to hit me with all he's got without defending myself, I won't put my finger into something on the stove to test the temperature, I'll be more careful with kitchen knives, I won't walk into the way of a driving vehicle, and I won't underestimate the pain of a paper cut."

Her eyebrows rose. "And?"

There was more? What had he forgotten?

Ah!

"I also won't bite my tongue to suppress a smile ever again. Happiness is not something I should stifle. Generally, I should not try to suppress _any_ feeling I have as that would only lead to dissatisfaction and I deserve to be happy after all this mess I've been through."

Lucy hit his shoulder, a blush rising on her cheeks. "You didn't have to repeat the whole thing."

He made a mock saluting gesture, hissing at the pain in his palm.

"Yes sir. It won't happen again. And now I'll go ask Wendy if she can—"

"No Wendy this time. If you're never going through a proper healing process, you'll never learn to take care of your body. There won't always be a healer close by when you get hurt."

He was about to protest when a weight settled onto his head and a warm body pressed against his back.

"I agree with her. Sometimes I wonder who of us is the big brother that supposedly lived four hundred years already. I'm going to take care of you during your healing process."

 _'Natsu taking care of me? Maybe going through a healing process isn't that bad after all.'_

He turned his palms upward to inspect the damage, noting that they were starting to blister.

 _'They're burning like hell. Maybe I should cool th—'_

"Give me your hands, idiot."

Zeref looked to his left where Gray had just sat down and was now leaning into his personal space, reaching for his hands. Zeref bit back a wince when their hands touched, but he noticed quickly that Gray's hands were ice cold. He closed his eyes and let out a relieved sigh as the pain became more bearable.

Sadly, Natsu took a step back as Zeref turned sideways on the bench so that Gray had better access to his hands.

Zeref always enjoyed every second of his little brother being close to him, touching him. Natsu didn't even seem to notice, let alone care, that he was being overly touchy with him. Maybe it was his way of making up for years of being apart. Or maybe this was his way of showing that he cared. By the looks of it, he was starting to work up the courage to treat Gray like that, too.

Zeref let his gaze wander over to Natsu, hoping to get him to close the distance again, but what he found made him pause. Natsu's lips were parted slightly, he was staring alternately at Gray's face and their linked hands, and if Zeref wasn't imagining things, there was a blush rising on his cheeks.

Was he jealous? After all, Gray was holding hands with somebody else. Sure, it served a practical purpose, but it was happening all the same. Zeref didn't know what a jealous expression should look like, but he really didn't think that this was it. He'd say Natsu was rather _fascinated_ by what he saw.

Natsu gulped. His eyes slowly wandered up Zeref's arms to his face, and Zeref knew he ought to look away, but he didn't. He could hardly be blamed. Everything about Natsu drew him in like a magnet. His eyes, his face, his full lips. What would they feel like? Zeref wanted to touch them, to lay his own lips on them—

Gray cleared his throat, startling Zeref out of his daydream. He quickly averted his eyes and met Gray's reproachful gaze, only then noticing that his heart was hammering and his breath came quicker.

 _'What the_ hell _is wrong with me? I've been staring at Natsu's lips and I even thought about_ kissing _them.'_

"W-well... I was about to take you to the bathroom to run cold water over it, but I guess this works just fine."

Natsu's voice was strangely croaky. Despite the strong desire, Zeref didn't dare risking another glance.

* * *

That evening, Zeref lay awake, hyperaware of his useless, bandaged hands. He couldn't do anything like this. The realization of what this entailed had only hit him when Natsu had offered to take a bath together with him.

 _Well, you can neither wash yourself nor undress on your own, right?_

 _Of course_ he couldn't. Admittedly, his _I'll figure something out and now leave me alone, I'm tired_ and then tackling Natsu out of his bedroom hadn't been the best reaction, but what else should he have done? There was no way he'd let Natsu lay a hand on his body, now that he had proof of his physical reaction to the _thought_ of Natsu touching him.

He would rather not wash himself and not change clothes for the next few days than letting Natsu see him naked and hard, _thank you very much_.

Zeref had no business feeling attracted to his little brother. They were _family_. There was no way Natsu would ever return these stupid feelings, so he'd just have to get over them as quickly as possible. What did they mean anyway? It was true that he hadn't had sex in a very long time, but he could solve that problem by just finding somebody for a one-night-stand. Or by taking matters into his own hand. Which he currently couldn't, as his hands were two giant balls of bandage. He shouldn't have let Natsu do it. But then again, he had enjoyed having Natsu so close, and for an extended period of time at that.

 _'He did say he was going to take care of me. He would have undressed me, washed me, and dressed me again if I had just let him... Hasn't he realized earlier that there's something going on? That I want... more from him? Or could it be that he did notice... and... and what? If he noticed and still offered something like a bath together... does he want to take his chance?'_

A moan escaped his lips before he could stop it.

 _'Shit, I'm so damn horny. When was the last time I masturbated? I can't even remember.'_

His aching arousal made it hard to think of anything but Natsu.

 _'Shortly before I kicked him out of my room, he said he'd help me with anything, but how am I supposed to take that? Would he help me masturbate? No, no, no! No way. He didn't mean it like that. Why would he? As I know him, he's probably oblivious to everything and doesn't mean anything special by it.'_

But even so, that certainly didn't stop him from imagining how Natsu would react if Zeref requested his help, or if he clumsily started jerking himself off and Natsu happened to walk in on him, or if they took a bath together and Zeref got hard. There were countless options and his mind made sure to show him many of them, always with the outcome that Natsu happily got involved with him.

Before long, he turned around and humped the mattress in a desperate attempt to get at least a part of the pent-up desire out of his system.

* * *

Even though both of their bedroom doors were closed, Natsu could hear Zeref's muffled whimpers clearly. He'd been about to succumb to sleep when his sharp ears caught the first, rather loud moan. That bastard just had to destroy everything again, when Natsu had finally managed to calm down his spinning thoughts and confused feelings enough so that he could fall asleep.

He'd been aware of his love for Gray for a while already, but then his brother had to barge in and turn everything upside down. He'd made Natsu doubt everything. Not only his feelings for Gray, but also his sanity. After all, what kind of stupid person would fall in love with his _biological brother_? When he _was already in love with another person_ on top of that.

He felt guilt towards Gray because his heart didn't belong solely to him anymore. He felt guilty because his feelings for Zeref weren't pure brotherly love. But most of all, he felt sorry for himself as neither of these two would ever return his feelings. And even in the unlikely case that one of them did return them, he'd still feel guilty every time they'd kiss because there was somebody else on his mind.

When he'd seen Gray holding his brother's hands earlier that day, it had been like a revelation. If only these two could end up together, Natsu thought he could be happy... probably.

"Nnhh..."

Natsu bit his lip, but the one who'd made that sound wasn't him.

 _'Nii-san... what are you doing to me? Couldn't you have waited another few minutes until I was asleep?'_

"Aahh..."

Who was he thinking of when he did it? Was it Gray? Natsu had never heard his brother jerking off before, and they'd been living together since the war had ended, which meant it was three months already. Was it merely a coincidence that he masturbated on the same day he'd held Gray's hands for at least ten minutes straight? Or had Natsu only never heard Zeref doing it before because he'd always been asleep the other times?

How did Zeref even manage to jerk off when his hands were bandaged? Natsu held his breath for a few seconds and listened closely. The only sounds he heard from Zeref's bedroom were sheets rustling and ragged breathing. Did he rub his bandaged hand over his crotch? Whatever it was, Natsu couldn't imagine it was effective.

 _'My brother, handicapped but still trying to get off... I bet he looks hot. I wonder what he'd do if I offered to help out. Shit. He'd surely kill me if I did that.'_

* * *

 **Leave a Review to vote:**

 **A. Go and offer him a hand**  
 **B. Just gonna watch him through the keyhole, nothing more...**  
 **C. Masturbate in own room**  
 **D. Do nothing and suffer silently**

 **If there's a draw between two/more options, I'm gonna choose the one I like best, throw a dice, or whatever.**

 **Keep in mind: the decision that _looks like_ it's going to contain the most smut / the least Angst doesn't necessarily need to turn out to _be_ the one with the most smut / the least Angst.**

 **Update 08/25/2017:**

 **I'm closing the poll now. No more votes please - they will not be counted anymore as I have already started writing Chapter 2. The results are as follows:**

 **(A): 5 votes (2x Tumblr, 2x AO3, 1x ffn)**

 **(B): 4 votes (1x Tumblr, 3x ffn)**

 **(C): 1 vote (1x ffn)**

 **Something else: I don't accept requests/suggestions. The only way for you as a reader to influence this fic is to vote on one of the options I'm presenting you. The rest is completely up to me.  
**

 **I also don't like comments along the lines of "please update soon". Writing is just a hobby of mine and I don't appreciate pressure. It can spoil the fun for me, which can lead to slower/no more writing on my side, which will make my readers (you) unhappy.**

 **To get quicker updates, leaving positive and non-pressuring feedback is the way to go** **;-)**


	2. Chapter 2

**You voted for "A. Go and offer him a hand" (on tumblr, and AO3) with a total of 9 votes!**

 **Enjoy ;)**

* * *

The sounds of Natsu's heavy breathing and pounding heart nearly drowned out the little whimpers his brother made. He was leaning against the wooden door—the last obstacle that separated him from his older brother.

 _'I'm really going to do this, aren't I? Things could get awkward between us, but I just don't care right now. I'll forever wonder what the outcome might have been if I_ don't _do this.'_

He looked down at himself, clearly seeing the outline of a boner through his pants and let out a barely audible sigh.

He'd decided to play it cool. It would be best, both for his heart and for their relationship. Plus, if Zeref refused, he could just shrug it off and the awkwardness would be kept to a minimum.

He took a deep breath and braced for the worst outcome.

* * *

Zeref's clothes were already drenched in sweat, but he wasn't even close to finishing. Why was this so hard? With all the mental images of him doing lewd stuff with his little brother, it should have been easy to get off even with minimal friction. If only he didn't have to worry about keeping his voice down.

He bit back a frustrated groan. Shifting the angle and moving his hips quicker hadn't helped much. He was at a point where he'd do anything—maybe if he bent his spine so that he could sandwich his cock with his elbows...

A loud rustle from within the room nearly gave him a heart attack. He didn't dare breathe, could only stare at his pillow in horror. Surely he'd misheard. There was no way something or somebody was—

"Do you need help with that?"

Zeref whirled around, wrapping the blanket tightly around his body with the clumsy movement. He could only see silhouettes in the near complete darkness, but there was no doubt that Natsu was standing in his room, the door closed. When had that happened? How long had he been standing there? How had he entered without Zeref noticing?

But more importantly: "Have you ever heard of _privacy_ or _knocking_?"

Natsu shifted from one foot to the other. "I thought you'd stop if I knock—"

"Well, that's kinda the _point_ of it, yeah."

"—but I came here to offer a hand."

His mind replayed the words several times before he registered the _meaning_ behind them. Judging from Natsu's tone, he was dead serious with his offer.

He could get Natsu's hand around his cock, stroking him, making him come. All he had to do was accept. He gulped.

"You... mean it?"

"Of course. It's partly my fault that Wendy didn't heal you, and I did promise I'd take care of you, right?"

Well, if he put it that way... Zeref was in need and Natsu offered his help. No strings attached. Natsu would be lending him a hand because his didn't function properly. Nothing else. There was no reason to refuse.

"If you don't want me to, I'll just go—"

"No."

"Oh? Very well, then I'll stay." Natsu crawled onto the bed, caging Zeref with his limbs. He leaned down and whispered right into Zeref's ear, "Relax. If it helps, imagine it's your own hand, or that I'm somebody else."

Did that mean Natsu hadn't noticed what was going on? That he didn't know his big brother was lusting after _him_? Well, all the better.

"Okay."

Extricating Zeref from the blankets proved to be a bit tricky with Natsu on top, so he stood up. Much to Zeref's disappointment, Natsu didn't lie back down once the sheets were on the floor, but instead sat down cross-legged next to Zeref's hips, facing his crotch. His knees rested against Zeref's thigh and abdomen.

Zeref closed his eyes, nervously anticipating the moment Natsu would take his clothes off. There was absolute silence, and nothing happened for a while. He wondered if Natsu had changed his mind and was about to ask, but then he felt something brush over his clothed crotch.

He threw his head back as a wave of pleasure surged through his body. Natsu's hand carefully massaged the tip for a while and then quickly removed all the clothes that were in the way. He wrapped his hand loosely around Zeref's hard cock and caressed the tip, smearing pre-cum all over it.

"Wow, you're wet. You must've been at it for quite a while already."

"Sh-shut up, _ah_!"

He bit his lip in an attempt to stifle the embarrassing sounds that left his mouth, but he didn't manage to suppress them completely.

"I will, but only if you don't hold back your voice. Remember that you promised Lucy you wouldn't suppress your feelings anymore? This is a feeling, too."

What a joke. If he didn't suppress at least some of his current feelings, he'd scare Natsu and probably everyone else he knew away. Besides, what had holding back sounds of pleasure got to do with anything? Zeref opened his mouth to protest, but Natsu chose that exact moment to start pumping him eagerly, so all that came out were moans.

"Mhh, good, let it all out. There's nobody who could overhear, and it feels best if you're not holding back, trust me."

What a dirty tongue his brother had! As if his hand wasn't already driving him crazy enough. Oh, how Zeref wished he could see Natsu's face clearer, but it was blurry in the shallow moonlight. Natsu was staring at Zeref's face, that much he could tell, but even Natsu shouldn't be capable of seeing his expression, right? Or was he able to see in the near darkness thanks to his enhanced senses? Could he see Zeref's lustful face, his parted lips, his eyes searching for something they wouldn't find? He wanted to know.

"C-can you s—ah, _ahh_ , Natsu, stop!"

The hand slowed down to the point where it was merely a lazy caress.

"Gonna cum, nii-san?" Natsu asked, his voice raspy.

The words echoed in his mind. Images of Natsu and himself popped up. Natsu with his cock buried inside Zeref's ass, pounding into him like there was no tomorrow, pumping Zeref's cock until he was screaming Natsu's name. _Gonna cum, nii-san? Me too, I'm gonna blow my load so deep into you—_

"Shit, I'm about to—nghh, _ahhh_!"

Waves of pleasure rocked his body as he came hard, spilling his release all over Natsu's hand and his own clothes. Natsu worked him through it, slowly coming to a halt when the twitching of his body subsided.

"That was rather quick. You had a lot bottled up, hm? That's not good for your health, nii-san. You should take care of this once in a while."

Zeref heard the words, but he didn't understand the meaning of half of them. He was too out of it, reveling in the powerful orgasm he'd just had.

He distantly noted that Natsu withdrew his hand and clumsily wiped the mess inside Zeref's clothes dry one-handed. Then he got up from the bed, holding his soiled hand up lest it spoiled his clothes or the floor.

He was already nearly out of the room when Zeref finally had enough presence of mind to realize that he shouldn't let Natsu go like this.

"Wait."

Natsu paused, looking over his shoulder.

"Yes?"

Zeref sat up, hoping that the upright position would give him back at least a little bit of his dignity.

"This... what was... um."

Very dignified indeed, stuttering like that.

"Just me lending you a hand because yours are useless right now. We don't ever have to talk about it or even acknowledge it happened."

Something inside Zeref broke, but he nodded anyway.

"Thanks."

Natsu turned his head back to the corridor and gave a nod as well.

"Good night."

After the sound of the closing door died away, the heavy silence that followed threatened to choke him. There was the faint sound of Natsu locking himself into the bathroom, but then there was nothing to distract him from the panic that welled up inside his gut.

 _'I let Natsu touch me. I tainted my little brother. All for a few minutes of selfish pleasure. And what now? How will I face him in the morning? How will we face his—no,_ our _friends? Why haven't I chased him away?'_

Zeref noticed that he was crying only when a tear entered his parted lips, spreading a salty taste in his mouth. He wiped his cheeks with his bandaged hands, but it was no use. New tears just kept wetting them again.

* * *

Natsu was about to hold his cum-covered hand under the jet of water when curiosity got the better of him. He brought it to his lips, licking up a bit of Zeref's cum. It didn't taste good, but the fact that he was tasting _his brother's cum_ turned him on. Not that he needed the additional stimulation after what he'd just done. When his brother's hot seed had coated his hand, he'd feared for a moment that he would come untouched. He hadn't, so he was still achingly hard.

Maybe he could make good use of the sticky liquid. He closed the tap.

Once his pajama pants and boxers were out of the way, he wrapped the spoiled hand around his cock and slicked it up. He never once took his eyes off his dick as he brought himself closer to the edge, alternating between moving his hand and moving his hips while imagining the hand was... something else. Namely, his brother's mouth or asshole.

In his head, it wasn't his foreskin sliding back and forth over his tip, but Zeref's wet lips. His brother would fondle his balls. He'd lick over the tip every time his head bobbed up. Maybe hollow his cheeks to increase the friction. Natsu would tell him how much he liked being sucked and then his voice would break, and he'd come hard—

"Ah, holy shit!"

Natsu angled his cock so that the spurts of cum landed in the sink, then closed his eyes and enjoyed the ecstatic waves of his powerful orgasm.

When the aftershocks faded, he looked up at his reflection, breath coming quick and ragged. He would have thought he'd feel guilty for his actions, but he didn't. Zeref had felt good, Natsu had felt good. Something that was supposed to be wrong shouldn't feel that right. He wasn't going to apologize, neither to Zeref nor to himself. If he was ever presented with the opportunity to do it again, he wouldn't hesitate.

* * *

Persistent knocks threatened to pull Zeref from the sweet embrace of his little brother, but he didn't want to leave just yet. It felt so good, and he knew that Natsu felt the same—he'd told him so.

Another knock, harder this time. "Hey, wake up! Can I come in?"

Zeref startled awake, sitting up straight. The events from the previous night crashed over him like a waterfall, and his brief hope that it had all just been a dream were shattered as he lifted the blanket and saw that the only thing covering his crotch was his sash.

"Heeeey, big brother, are you awake?"

Zeref wanted to bury his face in his hands, but when he hit himself rather hard with the bandage balls, he cursed.

"Yeah, I'm awake."

"I'm coming in then."

The door creaked, revealing a cheerful Natsu.

"Good morning, sunshine."

Zeref grumbled. "I said stop calling me that."

Natsu came closer and squished Zeref's cheeks. "Aww, but you're always in such a good mood in the morning."

"Mmmpf. Let go."

Natsu's behavior took a load off Zeref's mind, but he didn't let on. His little brother was damn good at not acknowledging that something happened between them.

"Okay, but you're accompanying me to the bathroom now, and you're getting a bath. The preparations for Fantasia Festival are starting today and I don't wanna be late."

Seriously, how could Natsu still think that taking a bath together was a good idea after what happened the previous night?

"I told you yesterday, I don't want to take a bath."

"Nu-uh, you told me you would figure something out and that you were too tired and then you just kicked me out of your room. _Have_ you figured something out? I'm not taking you to the guild reeking like that."

Natsu made a mock-disgusted face while pointing to Zeref's armpits, which earned him a bandaged smack on the forehead. Natsu laughed and launched a counter-attack, and after a short scramble, Natsu had Zeref pinned to the bed, sitting astride his hips.

That left Zeref's crotch directly under Natsu's, separated only by a few layers of thin cloth. Panic kicked in. Zeref knew all too well that Natsu was physically stronger than him, but that didn't stop him from trying anyway, frantically rocking his hips in an unsuccessful attempt to throw Natsu off. Very bad idea. As if he'd needed additional stimulation to get stiff.

"Get off!"

But Natsu only leaned down and whispered right into his ear, "You have two options. Either I'll bathe you or I'll ask Gray to do it. You decide."

If Natsu had already noticed Zeref's semi-hard-on, he didn't let it show. However, Zeref needed to answer quickly, before it was too late.

* * *

 **A. Pick Gray**  
 **B. Pick Natsu**  
 **C. Refuse to answer, panic instead (because panicking is always a good idea), try to get Natsu off desperately (pun totally _not_ intended, I swear)**

 **I realized that offering an open answer which you should clarify is a bad idea since it's never gonna make it. Most people don't read the comments of others before they write their own.**

Update 17.03.2019 (March 17th, 2019 for those among you who aren't used to the European way of formatting a date): Currently, we have a draw between the options A and B, counting the votes on AO3 (3x A and 4x B) **and** the votes here on (2x A and 1x B).  
 _ **The next vote I get will be the last and determining one, no matter on which platform.**_  
Even if the next vote is for C. In this case, I'll decide on either A or B _(insert evil laughter here)._

Another update (same day as above): Okay, it's decided, it's going to be B! ABeautyFairy (on AO3) left the final vote, the poll's **closed!**


	3. Chapter 3

**You voted for B: Pick Natsu. Enjoy!**

* * *

"You do it, now _get off!_ "

Natsu smiled, but thankfully let go of Zeref and got up. "I'll go run us a bath."

And with that, he was out of the room, pulling the door closed.

Zeref closed his eyes and wanted to bury his head in his hands, but instead he only hit himself with the two bandage balls—again.

"Ouch. Shit."

He hit his bed in a fit of frustration, as if it was somehow responsible for his situation. Why on earth had he picked Natsu and not Gray?

 _'Because I crave his touch, I want him close to me. Some evil part of me wants him to notice my attraction, wants him to do something like last night...'_

He shook his head, this time deliberately hitting himself.

 _'No. I chose him because choosing Gray would have been illogical. Natsu would've needed to go to the guild hall and bring Gray here, it only would've raised unpleasant questions from everyone, starting with Gray. He already noticed something yesterday, I really don't want to give him more reason to be suspicious.'_

Zeref just needed to stay calm. Imagine it were his own hands washing him. Oh god, Natsu was going to wash him. That meant he was going to touch every part of his body. His chest, his back, his ass, and even... _there_. Holy shit. Zeref was already rock hard at the thought alone.

Hard and panicking.

 _'I could still run away, or I could feign a heart attack or anything that keeps me away from the bathroom. I could flee to the guild and beg Wendy to heal me.'_

But Zeref couldn't bring himself to do any of these things. He realized that, however masochistic it seemed, he didn't _want_ to run away. This was his fate, then. If he wanted to retain at least a little dignity, he would just have to play it cool, like Natsu did.

 _'This is just a morning wood. I couldn't get rid of it myself, obviously, so it's still there. I'm not embarrassed in the least. It's totally natural. Most men have this issue in the morning, it's really nothing to be ashamed of. Yeah. Right.'_

* * *

Natsu wasn't a fool. Of course he'd noticed his brother growing hard under him. And that he'd panicked because of it. All of this was clear as day—the only question was the reason. Did _Natsu_ arouse Zeref or was it just because Zeref hadn't gotten laid in a long time and _anybody_ could turn him on? Jerking off and having sex weren't the same after all, right? Natsu couldn't be sure, since he was still a virgin if he didn't count his toys.

Natsu bit his lip to stifle a moan. He'd gotten naked as soon as the water was running, absent-mindedly stroking his penis, fully intent on getting off before Zeref entered the bathroom. Even though he knew that Zeref was probably still aroused, he wanted to spare himself the shame of being aroused as well. After all, he couldn't be sure what his brother would think if he noticed.

A knock on the bathroom door startled him back to awareness. The bathtub was as full as it could be, and the clock showed him that already five minutes had passed. He looked down at himself, his hand wrapped tightly around his erection—he wasn't even close to finishing yet. Well, this only seemed fair, even if Natsu didn't like being exposed like this. He could already smell Zeref's arousal through the bathroom door.

Natsu closed the tap and sunk into the water, then said, "It's open. Come in."

Zeref entered, his elbow on the handle when he walked in, then turned around and pushed the door close with his foot. Zeref was still half clothed, nearly in the same state as Natsu had left him the previous night. Right, Natsu needed to undress him, so he'd have to get up and expose himself way too soon for his liking.

Zeref raised his eyes. "Oh, you already started without me?"

Natsu briefly panicked, but realized that Zeref was referring to the bath, not his masturbation.

"Yeah, I kinda forgot that you can't undress on your own. Well, come here."

Zeref stepped closer and his aroused scent grew stronger, addling with Natsu's brain.

Natsu took a deep breath and stood up, but he needn't have worried. Zeref was looking anywhere except for Natsu's direction. His big brother was _ashamed_ of seeing him naked. A hint that it was _him_ who turned Zeref on.

Natsu quickly undressed Zeref from within the bathtub, gulping when he noticed Zeref's dried sperm on the sash. As expected, Zeref's penis was proudly standing upright, his tip already leaking fresh precum.

 _'Fuck, I want to take you right here and now. Do you even know what you're doing to me? Well, of course not—how could you?'_

Despite his raging desire, Natsu knew that doing something rash would probably scare his brother away. So, he sat down and invited Zeref to come in as well. The foam hid both their erections and the water repressed most of Zeref's scent, so Natsu's desire calmed down a little and he could pretend everything was normal.

To ease the mood, Natsu splattered water into Zeref's face. "Hah! You can't defend yourself with your hands bandaged!"

He hadn't even finished talking when a spurt of water hit his face. Natsu blinked, opening his eyes in time to see Zeref's foot vanishing under the surface again.

"I'm sorry, what did you say? I couldn't hear you, you had water in your mouth." A devious—sexy, Natsu would say—smirk played on Zeref's lips.

"Just you wait!"

Natsu launched another attack, close range this time, sitting on Zeref's legs so that he couldn't counterattack anymore. Zeref still tried, though, but his hands really were a huge handicap. He didn't want them to become wet, so there was not much he could do. He lifted his arms in surrender. They were both giggling and light-headed, so Natsu didn't think much of it when he leaned forward to tickle Zeref's armpits. He hadn't considered that both their cocks were still hard, and that the motion brought them so close that they brushed against the other. Zeref was very ticklish, so his only reaction was a fit of laughter. Natsu skidded backwards and ceased his attack, a little embarrassed.

When Zeref had barely recovered from his bout of laughter, Natsu cleared his throat.

"Okay, enough games, we don't want to be late. Turn around."

Zeref complied, and Natsu tried his hardest not to touch his brother in a non-brotherly way when he shampooed his hair and massaged his scalp, but even _he_ noticed that it was a weak attempt. However, Zeref didn't seem to mind. He sighed and leaned into the touch.

"Hmmm, that's good. Can we do this more often?"

Where did Zeref take this courage from? The night before he'd been rather passive and nervous, in the morning he'd nearly panicked. Natsu found Zeref's new confidence a little unsettling. Was that how he usually made his brother feel?

Well, Zeref could _pretend_ to be confident, but Natsu _was_ confident.

"You like that, eh? Then what about—" Natsu scraped his fingernails lightly over Zeref's scalp, "—that?"

"Ah, that's... mmhh, even better."

Natsu's heart thumped heavily as he continued to massage his brother's scalp. He wondered how long they could uphold their little game of pretending nothing was out of order. Natsu wasn't going to be the one to break it. After all, maybe this was the only way Zeref could give himself to Natsu? He didn't want to ruin that.

Everything about Natsu's touches was erotic—he took his sweet time soaping Zeref's shoulders and arms, caressing his bicep far longer than was necessary. When he got to Zeref's back, he dipped his hand into the water just because he wanted to trail down Zeref's backbone a little more, get a little closer to his—

"Natsu, are you stupid? You should've told me to get up. Now you need new soap, idiot."

A little taken aback, Natsu stopped his advance. Was he mistaken? Was there a chance that Zeref _really_ saw this as a normal thing between brothers and didn't think anything special of it?

No way. Zeref was definitely aroused—a quick look over Zeref's shoulder confirmed his belief—and was just trying to play it cool, following Natsu's example. To mask his movement, Natsu grabbed the soap, accepting that his erection brushed Zeref's back. Zeref didn't even seem to notice.

"Well then, get up."

Zeref stood up without turning around and Natsu followed suit.

Both their breaths elevated more and more the closer Natsu got to Zeref's genital area, but neither said a word. When there was nothing left unwashed but Zeref's ass and crotch, Natsu gathered all his courage and leaned against Zeref's back, his own erection pressing in the cleft of his brother's ass, hands lightly brushing Zeref's hips.

He brought his lips to Zeref's ear and said, "I need to wash there, too, if you allow me."

Zeref shuddered. "Of course. I believe it's rather dirty there."

Well well, if that wasn't an invitation for cleaning it _very thoroughly_. Natsu slid his hands slowly over Zeref's skin towards his crotch, giving him enough time to protest, but when the only thing he heard was their combined hard breathing, he wrapped one hand around his brother's arousal and the other gently around his balls.

There were so many things Natsu wanted to say. Some of them lewd, some _very_ lewd, and even some sappy things. However, he bit his tongue and instead focused on making his brother feel good and feeling good himself. Because if he liked it or not, Zeref's hips moved ever so slightly with the rhythm his hand set.

Of course, Natsu loved it, but the slow rhythm was driving him mad, so he moved his hips a little against Zeref's ass to get more friction. It was in this moment when the first moan escaped Zeref's lips. He moaned when _Natsu_ humped his ass. That was it. Natsu let go of the last bit of control he'd tried to maintain and thrusted hard, earning him another moan.

With a burst of confidence, Natsu decided to be bold. He nibbled at Zeref's earlobe and whispered, "Mmm, yeah, you're very dirty down there. It's gonna take some time until you're clean, I'm afraid."

"Thought so. Ahh... But I wanna be clean—ah—, so you better do it properly."

Holy shit, and Natsu had thought he couldn't possibly be hornier.

"I'll be thorough—nghh—, I promise, _nii-san_."

Was there anything stopping Natsu from taking his brother from behind for real? He wanted to ram his cock into Zeref's butthole so desperately. He'd just have to angle his hips a little differently, and it would slide in there, maybe with a bit resistance—

 _No_. Zeref wasn't prepared and it would be very painful for him. Natsu wasn't so selfish. He wanted Zeref to feel good, not scare him off. Besides, Zeref's ass cheeks were doing the job just fine. Natsu felt his orgasm drawing closer and closer. His hand sped up of its own volition.

Zeref winced. "Whoa, hey, are you trying to burn my cock? Hold still, I'm gonna show you how to clean it properly."

Was he for real? He wanted to fuck Natsu's hand? The sheer thought nearly made Natsu cum, but he held it back. He wanted to draw this out as long as possible.

Natsu obliged and held his hand still, tightly wrapped around Zeref's cock. Zeref moved slowly at first, then sped up a little, but then came to a halt abruptly.

"A little too tight. Now it's too loose—ahh, that's it. Perfect."

When Zeref started fucking Natsu's hand in his own rhythm, letting out sounds of pleasure and stimulating Natsu's cock with every thrust, it was too much for Natsu to take. He blew his load all over Zeref's back and ass, and for a moment, he forgot where he was and what he was doing and just succumbed to bliss.

Apparently, his grip had loosened considerably, since Zeref protested, but Natsu was too out of it to understand the words. He tightened his grip nonetheless and a second later, all the sensations came back to him. Zeref was humping his hand again slowly, but his ragged breath betrayed his impending orgasm.

Interesting. So, the night before hadn't been an exception and Zeref liked it slow before his orgasm. Natsu committed everything to memory: how Zeref's hips suddenly stopped dead, then Zeref's ecstatic scream as the first spurt of cum landed on the tap, his shudders as the next few followed, staining the rim of the tub and Natsu's hand, the soft plop as droplets landed in the water, and finally, how Zeref sunk against Natsu's chest, his knees too weak to support him any longer.

Natsu carefully sank back into the water and set his brother down. He wiped the mess from their skin, his hands calm even as a wave of guilt crashed over him, threatening to suffocate him.

Neither of them said another word. Zeref also didn't turn around during the whole drying process, and by the looks of it, he probably wouldn't anytime soon. Natsu was aware that he'd need to lead Zeref to his bedroom and dress him there, so he pushed past his brother and opened the door for him, too afraid to check on his face.

When Zeref's clothes were in place and Natsu was fastening his sash, Zeref finally broke the silence.

"Thanks for washing me. I probably wouldn't have set a foot outside otherwise. I'm looking forward to this festival of yours as well. It's my first time after all, so I'm glad I'm not missing out on it."

Natsu looked up and when their eyes met, he felt choked.

Zeref was just too beautiful.

So damn beautiful.

"It's..." Natsu's voice was croaky and he sounded breathless, so he cleared his throat and tried again. "Don't say _'yours'_. Fantasia Festival is organized by all of Fairy Tail for all the people in Magnolia. You're a part of Fairy Tail as well, a part of our family."

Zeref smiled and Natsu felt like his heart might combust.

"You're right. Well then, let's get ready and get going."

"Yeah."

Natsu felt his eyes prickling even as he smiled a broad and happy smile. He turned around and left Zeref's room before his eyes started to water, and he was in the bathroom, leaning against the closed door when the first silent tears ran down his cheeks. He covered his lips with both hands to make sure no sound escaped them, slowly sliding down the door as tears streamed down his face.

 _What on earth_ was he doing? What had he just done? He thought he'd be fine with it, and honestly, he was. But what if Zeref grew sick of this little game they were playing? What if it was _really_ just a game to Zeref? What if he rejected Natsu?

Natsu bit his lip. The mere thought made his heart ache in ways he didn't even know were possible. When had he fallen so deep? He thought he'd be okay with messing around and not get feelings involved. He'd been so sure of it. He'd prepared for rejection all along, yet here he was, giving himself to his older brother with heart and soul, feeling vulnerable like never before.

* * *

Erza, Lucy, Natsu, Zeref and Gray arrived at their designated hotel late in the evening. Everyone was tired, as their day had been hectic to say the least. Neither of them was happy when Makarov informed them of their special mission in the late afternoon, leaving them barely enough time to pack.

There was a special jewel the size of a human head which glowed in the most beautiful colors. It was guarded by a horde of strong monsters, so Makarov wanted to make sure and send their strongest team. Their task was to 'lend' the jewel for Fantasia Festival and then bring it back afterwards.

Although Gray suspected that their master just wanted to get rid of their troublemakers for a while, and he couldn't hold it against him, seeing as he and Natsu destroyed more than they helped. Naturally Erza stepped into their fight and devastated the guild only more. Lucy and Zeref tried to stop the three of them and finally succeeded, but the damage was already done.

Gray wouldn't be surprised if this jewel didn't even exist. It sure came in handy that it was supposedly hidden in the snowy mountains far away from their guild. If everything went as planned, they would make it back one day before the festival.

He looked over to his friends where Erza held up three sticks with the ends hidden in her fist and Natsu inspected it from every side. Zeref shrugged and ordered Natsu to draw the middle one for him, but Natsu didn't oblige, instead asked him several times if he was sure.

Gray sighed, took a step towards Erza and pulled out the middle stick, revealing red color at the bottom.

"And this one—" he reached for the left stick, "—is for me."

Gray was relieved to find the bottom red as well. This meant Zeref and him would share a room while Natsu would sleep alone. It would've been unsettling if Natsu and Zeref had ended up sharing a room, but the probability for that was one-to-two.

Naturally, Natsu pouted and complained, but you didn't mess with Erza. She made it very clear that this decision was final.

Gray added, "Well, that's what you get for hesitating too long, flame-brain," then turned around and walked to his and Zeref's room, showing off his key as he went, much to Natsu's displeasure. He shouted insults at Gray, but was cut off by a hit, probably Erza's. Gray snorted in amusement.

"Hey, I heard that, you know," Natsu shouted after him.

Gray turned around one last time, noticing that Zeref was following him.

"Good," he shouted back at Natsu.

* * *

Zeref lay awake, hyperaware of Gray next to him in the double bed. He couldn't remember ever sleeping with another person in the same bed. Probably because for most of his life, he would've ended up killing that person accidentally in his sleep. Even though he had nothing to fear now that his curse was gone, he couldn't shake his nervousness. Rationally, he knew he couldn't harm Gray unconsciously. However, that didn't stop his mind from jolting him back into awareness whenever he was about to succumb to sleep.

"Can't sleep?" Gray whispered.

"Oh, you're still awake?" Zeref whispered back.

"How could I sleep with you trembling like that? Do you want to talk about it?"

Actually, he didn't.

 _'Please, don't suppress your feelings ever again. We are your family now; you can trust us. It will only make you unhappy if you bite your tongue,'_ Lucy's voice in his head resounded. He'd promised, and even though Zeref was still unused to talking about his feelings, at least this was something harmless to talk about, compared to his feelings for Natsu.

So he took a deep breath and admitted, "A little over three months ago, I would've accidentally killed you in my sleep."

Zeref heard sheets rustling and then felt Gray's hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I thought it would be something like that. Can I help you calm down or even sleep somehow?"

Gray's hand on his shoulder already calmed him down somewhat. And it also made him crave more physical touch. No matter how jealous Zeref was of Gray sometimes, he couldn't bring himself to hate Gray. It was quite the opposite: Zeref enjoyed Gray's company, except for the times when Gray and Natsu came too close.

"I'm already calmer. Thanks."

"That's good."

Gray withdrew his hand, and Zeref involuntarily let out a displeased grumble.

"Sorry," Gray said in an amused tone. "Let's see. The only position I can think of that lets us sleep while we're touching is holding hands."

"Very funny."

"Oh, right. We could also try hugging each other."

"We're not a couple."

"You're not used to body contact, are you? There's nothing to it. Even siblings sometimes cuddle."

Was that true? Zeref had felt the urge to cuddle Natsu before, countless times. If what Gray said was true, then that meant Zeref and Natsu could cuddle? Without it being considered romantic? So Zeref could bluntly ask Natsu for a cuddle?

The mere prospect of cuddling with Natsu made him feel warm and fuzzy.

 _'I've been overthinking. All this time, I could've just asked Natsu to cuddle with me. I'll definitely do that the next time I have the opportunity.'_

Well, if there was nothing to it, then why not try it with Gray?

"Okay."

It took some time until they found a comfortable position. Zeref even accidentally hit Gray once with his bandage ball and once Gray accidentally hit him with an elbow, but eventually they managed to sort their limbs and fell asleep.

* * *

"Wake up, you two, wake u—oh."

Gray wanted to rub his eyes but found one of his arms squished under Zeref's body. He had no feeling in that hand, so he extricated himself from Zeref's tight embrace.

He'd been fast asleep just a moment before, so he didn't know what the heck was going on. He sat up and found Natsu in the middle of their room, fully dressed and wearing a shocked expression. Gray looked down at Zeref lying close to him, grumbling in his sleep at the loss of contact and blindly fumbling for him.

"Natsu... have you ever heard of knocking?"

"Uh... I didn't think... I didn't know... The door wasn't locked, so I thought..."

"You're thinking too much. Leave us alone."

Natsu gulped, nodded, and turned around to leave. Gray didn't like this situation in the least, but it was Natsu's fault for barging in without knocking. And jumping to conclusions, judging by his expression.

Just when the door closed, Zeref stirred and slowly blinked awake.

"Hu? D' I miss som'thn'?"

"Yeah. Your brother burst in without knocking, saw us cuddling, and left again."

"I see. Y'don' wan' him t' think that we're involved 'cuz you love him."

Gray's eyes widened. "Wh-what are you talking about? You're still half asleep. Get your senses together first, and then we'll talk."

Zeref sat up and punched himself in the face with his bandaged hand.

"Ouuuch."

Gray blinked a few times. "Well, that sure is a way to wake up fast."

"It wasn't intentional. I keep forgetting _this_." Zeref waved his bandaged hands back and forth.

"Well, yeah, typical Natsu. I'll redo that for you. I'm sure I can do it much better than him."

Gray helped Zeref through his morning routine. He brushed his teeth, shaved his face, and helped him pee (without looking, of course). Then he redid the bandages. Zeref's hands were still scarlet and blistered, and from Zeref's reaction, they hurt like hell when something touched them. So Gray smeared ointment on them and then wrapped them in another bandage, only with far less layers than before. It looked much better than before and felt a lot better, Zeref admitted.

"I'll take a shower now. Do you want to join me? You'll need a shower as well."

"I'd prefer a bath, since it's easier to keep my hands out of the water."

"Makes sense. We have a bathtub, so I could run us a bath. Unless you'd prefer a bath with Natsu?"

Gray stared at Zeref, praying that Zeref wouldn't choose Natsu. Gray wasn't blind, after all. He'd noticed Natsu's longing looks in the direction of his older brother. However, they were siblings and it was best if Natsu wasn't tempted at all. Even if Zeref chose Natsu, Gray wouldn't give up so easily. He'd protect Natsu's honor at all cost. And not only because he was in love with Natsu, which was of course also true, but nobody besides himself needed to know that.

When Zeref only stared back at him without answering, Gray asked again, "Well?"

* * *

 **The options seem pretty obvious, don't they?**

 **A: Pick Gray.**  
 **B: Pick Natsu.**  
 **C: Pick Erza.**  
 **D: Pick Lucy.**

 **The game is on ;)**


End file.
